The location field for a meeting or scheduling request is an underutilized component in current calendaring and scheduling software. Typically, an organizer of a meeting includes a location of the meeting in the location input field text box of a meeting item, such as a meeting invitation request, event compose form, appointment, or contact card. This meeting location is generally input as freeform text into the text box in order to define the meeting location. The organizer enters the correct name and/or address of the desired meeting place in its entirety in order to provide the meeting location in the meeting item in a manner readily translatable to a recipient (who may use the location information to obtain a map of the location or directions to the location). To enter the desired meeting place in its entirety, the organizer plans in advance for finding a location for the meeting or appointment, often moving between the meeting item form and a browser in order to determine the correct name or address of the desired place.
Alternatively, because entering a desired meeting place in its entirety along with a street address or long text can be cumbersome (or not readily available), a meeting organizer may use shorthand location entries. For example, an organizer may define the meeting location as “my office,” “coffee shop,” or “main conference room.”
The shorthand versions may be sufficient in certain cases, but can also create some ambiguity or confusion. In one case, the ambiguity can result from out of date contact information. For example, “my office” may not be clearly understood by a recipient if they do not have the most up-to-date information about the organizer available due to, for example, having an old contact card. In another case, the ambiguity can result from there being multiple possible physical locations for a particular meeting location (such as using a name of a chain coffee shop) and/or no physical address provided that could be used to obtain directions to the meeting.